Page 111 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

“She looked it,” Brie said. “Come on, we don’t have much time.”

“For?”

“You want to know how to find Ethan Valentine? We have to do it now. There’s a staff meeting in five minutes. It’s our best chance to get into Tristan’s office and find Valentine’s contact information.”

I hesitated, realizing this whole thing was quickly getting out of hand.

“What?” Brie said. “I thought this was the plan.”

“Yeah, but—”

“No buts. We’re doing this.” Then she turned and started walking as if she knew I would follow her.

Which I did.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Being dead means never having to do anything sneaky.”

—Lawrence Block,Burglars Can’t Be Choosers

I was nervous. I had never broken into someone’s office before.

Brie led me through the main lodge. The administrative offices were in a one-story building south of the lodge, attached by a portico. Two golf carts were parked under the roof.

“Wouldn’t a staff meeting be in the offices?”

“Too many staff. They’re in the library on the second floor.”

That stopped me. “There’s a library? Like, shelves with books and comfy chairs and quiet music?”

“Yeeeaaah.” Brie eyed me suspiciously. “It’s open to guests, except when they have staff meetings.”

“Wow.”

“Not now. I’ll show you later if you want.”

“I wish I’d known.”

“Focus, Mia.”

I redirected my attention to the administrative building. It looked closed.

“How are we going to get in?” I looked around. The main door was visible to anyone who walked by, from both the roundabout and any of the south-facing windows. “Anyone could see us walk through the door.”

“Stop being so obvious!” Brie snapped. “Just chill. There’smore than one entrance. We’re going to walk by, then take the trail on the other side of the building to the back.”

“The security office is on that side.”

“They’re in the staff meeting too, except for one guy. As long as we don’t bring attention to ourselves, he won’t even notice us.”

“And if he does?”

“The path curves around the back of the resort. We’re just going for a walk on this beautiful day.”

Brie linked her arm in mine, and I groaned. “I hate this plan.”

“Trust me.”

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